I'll be interested to see what aftershocks there are, if any, from Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla's decision to leave school.

The UO players and coaches insist they have moved on, and maybe they have.

As supremely talented as Lyerla is, the Ducks can replace what he gave them on the field by using other players situationally, and with some tweaks to the scheme. They hadn't really missed him this season in the two games he didn't play.

The bigger issue is whether his sudden departure becomes the kind of distraction that impedes Oregon's ability to focus.

Under former UO coach Chip Kelly, the Ducks had a maniacal ability to bring a laser-like concentration to whatever task was immediately before them.

On Kelly's watch they survived LeGarrette Blount, a NCAA investigation, Jeremiah Masoli, a string of off-the-field incidents, Cliff Harris, and successfully and determinedly went about their business.

This will be UO coach Mark Helfrich's first test of this sort, and it comes at a bad time. The Ducks play their most meaningful game so far this season Saturday, and it happens to be the rivalry game with Washington, and it happens to be in Husky Stadium, and ESPN College GameDay will happen to be there.

I suspect Helfrich and the Ducks will weather this crisis. But until it happens, who can be sure?